The Czech Guide To Cookinghttps://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 14:00:21 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngThe Czech Guide To Cookinghttps://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com
Vanilla & Cocoa Masaryk Cookies (Masarykovo Cukrovi)https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/vanilla-cocoa-masaryk-cookies-masarykovo-cukrovi/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/vanilla-cocoa-masaryk-cookies-masarykovo-cukrovi/#respondFri, 16 Dec 2016 12:29:28 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=2265]]>Thomas G. Masaryk was an advocate of Czechoslovak independence during WWI and the first President of Czechoslovakia. For what he did for our country, we often refer to him as President Liberator. He was smart, well-travelled and he loved good food. His housemaid allegedly said that he was all about cookies and leftover dough, therefore this special kind, a combination of both, is called Masaryk Cookies.

Soak walnuts in mead overnight. Chop them roughly. Mix in together butter, granulated sugar and a yolk well. Divide mixture in half. Put 1 cup of flour, cocoa and 3/4 cup of walnuts into one and work it well until it is fully combined. Make a 4 cm (1.5 in) thick log, wrap it into the kitchen foil and let it rest in the fridge overnight.

Put 1 cup of flour, vanilla bourbon extract and 3/4 cup of walnuts into the other half of the mixture and repeat the process.

The next day, preheat the oven to 180 C/360 F. Take the cocoa and vanilla logs out of the fridge and slice them into 0.5 cm (0.2 in) thick cookies. Lay the cookies down on pans lined with baking paper and bake for 10 min. Dust them with powder sugar heavily while they are still hot.

The one true must-have on every holiday table and one of the most favorite cookies consumed in the Czech Republic. But are they really Czech?

Well, the story begins in Vienna during the Austro-Hungarian Empire which the Czech lands were part of at that time. In 1786, Ludwig Dehne opened a shop with frozen goods and later freshly baked cookies, donuts and other foods. Despite having huge success with the company and recieving the title of a Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court, his son sold it to his journeyman Christoph Demel and pursued an academic career.

Demel renamed the company, which you can visit even today after himself. Luckily for everybody, the secret vanilla crescents recipe was disclosed and it spread throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so we can enjoy it everywhere now.

Work all ingredients together in a firm dough and let it sit in the fridge overnight. The next day, preheat the oven to 160 C/320 F and start forming walnut-sized pieces of dough into crescent shapes. Put them down on pans lined with baking paper and bake for 15 min. Dust them with vanilla powder sugar heavily while they are still hot. Enjoy!

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/12/14/vanilla-crescents-vanilkove-rohlicky/feed/0vanilkove-rohlickyevamala85Grilled Hermelin (Hermelin na Grilu)https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/08/03/grilled-hermelin-hermelin-na-grilu/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/08/03/grilled-hermelin-hermelin-na-grilu/#respondWed, 03 Aug 2016 18:17:45 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=2142]]>Hermelin is a type of Czech cheese which was invented in the 1920s to imitate the famous French Camembert. It got its name from a stoat’s fur (in Czech “hermelin”) because of a white mold coating. Marinating was already widely used when Hermelin was brought to pass, therefore it didn’t take long, for back then, Czechoslovaks to add some more taste to it and put it into jars with spices and herbs or gril it.

Hermelin is sold in from one side paper, from the other aluminium foil material which I actually like using for grilling it. Some people prefer classic aluminium foil.

Mix together your favorite rub and vegetable oil properly. Open the Hermelin foil and make sure the cheese is in the middle of it. Cover the top and sides with the rub mixture, not the bottom so the spices do not burn and get bitter. Place the cheese in the open foil on the gril and wait until it gets round (when it is ready, it almost completely looses edges), than serve beautifully looking cheese on the outside but completely melted on the inside with nice home-made bread, vegetables, meats or just the way it is.

Out of barbecue season? Never mind, put Hermelin in the oven. It takes approximately 10 minutes and 250 C/480 F.

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/08/03/grilled-hermelin-hermelin-na-grilu/feed/0hermelin na griluevamala85Czech Braided Bun (Houska)https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/17/czech-braided-bun-houska/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/17/czech-braided-bun-houska/#commentsSun, 17 Jul 2016 16:39:15 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=2088]]>The first people who used any kind of bread were hunter-gatherers. They baked simple flat bread made out of wild wheat on hot stones. In 1000 BC, Ancient Egyptians isolated yeast and were able to introduce the culture directly to their breads. Baking moved from bare stones to stone or brick ovens and quickly spread through Greece to the whole Europe. When it got to the old Bohemians, they started producing many different kinds of bread. One of them was houska which got its name because of the shape – it reminded a small sitting goose.

Make a pile from flour and salt with a large dent in the middle on a kitchen desk. Pour lukewarm milk in the dent, add crumbled yeast and sugar. As soon as you will see the leaven in the milk, add 1 egg, 1 yolk and melted butter. Work the dough well from the center to the sides until it is nice and smooth. Make a ball out of it. Put it in the bowl and cover with a fabric cloth. Let sit in a room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 190 C (370 F). Divide the dough ball into 12 parts of the same size. Divide each part into 3 pieces. Work them well into ropes of the same length. Make a braid from these three ropes. Repeat the process with each part out of 12. Lay the houskas on the tray with baking paper. Brush the houska with leftover egg white and sprinkle them with your favorite topping. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Serve warm, cold, as a sandwich, as a side dish and when it gets tougher, use it without the seeds and salt for making houskove dumplings.

We never through anything away in the Czech kitchen!

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/17/czech-braided-bun-houska/feed/2houskaevamala85Simple Sweet Tomato Soup (Rajska Polevka)https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/simple-sweet-tomato-soup-rajska-polevka/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/simple-sweet-tomato-soup-rajska-polevka/#commentsSat, 16 Jul 2016 20:42:06 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=2045]]>Sweet tomato soup is as well as sweet tomato sauce a gem of Czech cuisine. While the most popular among kids because of its mild, yet unique taste, it can be found on menus in restaurants all over the country and often ordered by even adults.

Put butter into a small pot. Wait until it melts, then add flour. Cook for 2 minutes until the rue is nice and smooth. Add puree and chopped tomatoes. Stir for a minute. Pour the broth over the mixture and add allspice, bay leave and cloves. Cook for about 20 minutes. Strain the soup. Return it on the stove, add rice or your favorite alphabet pasta. Cook until the rice or pasta is soft. Then add sugar and salt. Enjoy!

If you want to switch up this classic taste a little, add thyme during cooking and/or serve with freshly grinded parmesan cheese and pepper.

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/simple-sweet-tomato-soup-rajska-polevka/feed/2rajska polevkaevamala85Semolina Porridge (Krupicova Kase)https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/semolina-porridge-krupicova-kase/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/semolina-porridge-krupicova-kase/#commentsSat, 02 Jul 2016 10:59:21 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=2007]]>This favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner of all Czech babies actually comes from the Ancient Rome. Apicus, a collection of Roman cookery recipes from 4th century AD mentioned it already. Semolina has been widely used in the whole Europe though. Semolina Porridge is the most known in Romania as Griș cu lapte, Slovakia as krupicová kaša and of course in the Czech Republic as krupicová kaše (pronounced as krupitsovah kashe).

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/semolina-porridge-krupicova-kase/feed/2krupicova kaseevamala85Svickova Creamy Saucehttps://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/svickova/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/svickova/#commentsMon, 27 Jun 2016 21:08:03 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=1921]]>Growing up, I thought that the most famous Czech dish had something to do with candles (svicka means a candle). My father did not help much and while supporting my theory, always mentioned that there are melted candles in the sauce. It did not make much sense because I had never seen my mother putting them in the pot while cooking… Couple years later, I found out that svickova is actually a kind of beef. “The best part of a cow!” my father has been saying from that point.

Unfortunately, he has not been completely right. A well-known Czech cookbook writer Magdalena Dobromila Rettigova mentioned in her legendary A Household Cookery Book from 1826 that svickova can be made from svickova (beef tenderloin) or even round beef steak. Either way, the result is truly amazing.

Clean and wash the beef. Make deep holes with a sharp knife in it. Put thin sticks of pork fat in each hole. Roast the beef from all sides in a pan. Than let it sit on a side.

Slice leftover fat and put it into a large hot pot. Add diced onion, carrots, parsley roots and celeriac. Make sure the vegetables are golden from all sides, then add brown sugar. Wait until it is caramelized. Put the mustard in the pot, stir well, add roasted beef, spices in a cloth (bay leaves, allspice and black pepper) and pour in the broth. Slowly cook until the meat is tender.

Take the meat and spices out from the pot. Use a food processor to make the most delicious sauce out of the vegetables. Return the sauce into the pot. Add the cream and even more broth if the sauce is too thick. Add salt, sugar and fresh lemon juice as needed. Serve with sliced beef and houskove dumplings.

In the Czech pubs, you can often see a slice of lemon, cranberry jam and whipped cream as a part of serving – not my favorite part though.

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/svickova/feed/4svickova2evamala85Strawberry Termixhttps://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/06/08/strawberry-termix/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/06/08/strawberry-termix/#commentsWed, 08 Jun 2016 18:59:30 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=1908]]>Termix, which started to be produced in Czech spa city of Podebrady in 1976 is in every person’s (who was born afterwards) childhood memory. It is a mixture of pudding, in Slavic countries popular quark and chocolate, vanilla or fruits. It’s delicious, easy-to-make and it’s right here:

Mash strawberries and brown sugar roughly with a fork. Get rid of excess juice from the strawberries. Heat up 2/3 milk in a pot. Pour in pudding mixed in 1/3 milk while whisking. Once the mixture is thick, set it on a side and add quark, powder sugar and mashed strawberries. Whisk properly. Put the mixture into jars or cups and let it cool down in the fridge. Serve cool.

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/06/08/strawberry-termix/feed/2strawberry termixevamala85Moravian Fruit Dumplings (Tvarohove Knedliky)https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/moravian-fruit-dumplings-tvarohove-knedliky/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/moravian-fruit-dumplings-tvarohove-knedliky/#commentsSun, 29 May 2016 20:12:38 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=1871]]>The first known recipe comes from the 17th century Moravia, today’s part of the Czech Republic. It describes fried dumplings made of potato dough and stuffed with pitted plums. Later on, the dumplings started being boiled. About that time, French food writer Edouard de Pomiane added them on the list between top 10 best foods in the world.

I will save the classic poppy seeds and plum recipe for later and rather start with typically Moravian delicasy, dumplings made of quark. There are not many things easier and faster then them.

In a bowl, mix together the soft quark, a yolk and salt. Add flour and work the dough well until smooth. Put the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. Clean the strawberries. Divide the dough into 12 pieces on a surface dusted with flour. Make balls from each piece, then press each ball down to make a thin patty. Put a strawberry in the middle of the patty. Wrap the dough around the strawberry evenly. Seal well all around.

Drop dumplings in a large pan of boiling water and cook until the dumplings float. Serve sprinkled with hard quark and powder sugar. Pour melted butter over the dish. Enjoy!

]]>https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/moravian-fruit-dumplings-tvarohove-knedliky/feed/2tvarohove knedlikyevamala85Dutch Schnitzel (Holandsky Rizek)https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/dutch-schnitzel-holandsky-rizek/
https://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/dutch-schnitzel-holandsky-rizek/#commentsFri, 27 May 2016 17:14:35 +0000http://theczechguidetocooking.wordpress.com/?p=1831]]>One would say that this type of schnitzel comes from Netherlands but it was actually invented in the Czech lands. So why Dutch? Well, 1/3 of this classic dish contains of delicious Gouda cheese. You can eat it anywhere from kindergarden canteens to upscale restaurants in the Czech Republic. And now even in your homes.

Put the ground meat in a bowl together with milk and mix it well until the mixture is nice and smooth. Add cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well again. Make burger-size patties. Refrigerate them for a while. Prepare three bowls (one for flour, one for eggs and one for breadcrumbs). Beat the eggs with salt and pepper. Bread the patties in flour, then dip them in the eggs and then cover them with the breadcrumbs properly from all sides. Pan fry or deep fry them until golden. Serve with your favorite mash or boiled potatoes.